Seeing Red
by valenciabelieves
Summary: Rage takes over Raven as she and Beast Boy are in the middle of a Romantic Relationship. As Rage burns the city to the ground, Beast Boy searches for answers on how this all happened, not only in Raven's mind, but in his own. Chapter 10 Posted. That's All Folks! That's the final Chapter! Enjoy...
1. Chapter 1: This Could Be A Possibility

**(AN: Hey guys this is a TT Fanfic that is told from Beast Boy's POV. Mostly about Raven going insane... Let me know what you think about chapter one. Thanks everyone!)**

Chapter 1: This Could Be A Possibility

"This is out of the control."

"We have to give her everything we've got. She must be stopped - by any means necessary."

"Any means necessary? That's still our friend out there! That's still Raven!"

"Man, she _killed _somebody! Whatever was left of Raven is gone now." "I'm sorry Beast Boy, but Cyborg is right. That thing isn't Raven. Not anymore."

"Look! The T.V.!" Starfire motioned toward the screen. I just wanted it to end; but the chaos just kept coming. The television displayed shaky footage of pure mayhem in the streets of downtown Jump City. People ran screaming through the streets as cars were flipped over by a familiar dark force.

"This is going national." Cyborg stated.

Robin changed the channel. It was the same footage. "It's on every station!"

I stood there, paralyzed. Raven - _our _Raven - was tearing the city to pieces. The Raven that I knew and loved had changed into something without mercy, without morals, and without boundaries. We watched in horror as the camera zoomed in on her, and we all saw the same thing. Pure fury. Her eyes locked on the camera. We knew that she was actually looking at us through that camera, seeing our shocked faces, enjoying our expressions of shock and awe. She smiled.

A voice came from everywhere in our living room. No doubt, it was Raven. "Your move." The Raven on the screen levitated towards the camera. Using her powers, she tore a lamp post from the ground, and swung it at the cameraman. The screen cut to black, and a news anchor appeared on screen.

Robin turned off the television. "This is a game to her. _A freaking game of chess._"

"And we're just a bunch of pawns without a queen." said Cyborg.

"We are going after her. Now. Don't hold anything back." Robin stood up and walked to the door.

"No."

"What?" Robin said angrily.

I said it again. "I'm not going."

Starfire put her hand on my shoulder. "Beast Boy, I realize that you are still clinging to the Raven that you once knew, but she is gone. And this time she is not coming back."

"Then go and stop her, but you will be doing it without me."

"There are bigger things happening than you right now Beast Boy." Robin shouted. "Raven is going to burn the city to the ground with everybody in it, and you are just going to sit there and watch? All because you refuse to accept the fact that Raven is not who she used to be?!"

"Yes. I can't hurt her. I can't see her like that. I can't fight Raven, she's one of us…" I said.

"Fine, suit yourself. If you can live with the fact that you are leaving everyone in the city to die at the hands of her, I won't stop you."

Cyborg spoke up. "Dude, look at the bigger picture."

"I'm sorry." I walked back to my room as they all ran out the door.

Ok, back it up. Raven hadn't been like this for very long. In fact, I would say that a week ago Raven was the complete opposite of what she had become now. I might as well tell you, we kind of had a thing going on. For a while at that point. It started about three months ago when I heard he open the door to my room.

One night she came into my room and she kissed me, then promptly left. I thought it was a dream. It was the kind of stuff you fantasize about, you know? Stuff like that didn't actually happen.

But it did.

There was no tell-all speech from either of us revealing how we've secretly been crushing on each other for a long time, nothing corny like that. She kissed me that night, and it kind of just went from there. When she left, I must have stood there blushing for an hour before passing out on the floor.

When I came to my senses that night, I went to Raven's room and stood outside the door. I was prepared to confront her and tell her how amazing that was of her to do and whatnot. My mind was really racing, but before I knocked on her door, reality kicked in.

It was three o'clock in the morning, and I was about to knock on someone's door. And not just anybody's door, _Raven's _door. Was I stupid or something? For all I knew I had dreamed up the whole ordeal in my head, and was about to make a fool of myself to someone who couldn't possibly have feelings for me.

And then it got weirder.

Her door opened, and she stood in the doorway with her hood down, expressionless as usual. I thought I was dead meat, how in the world was I going to explain myself?

She broke the silence. "You know Beast Boy, you think really loud."

"Uhhh…." Great, she heard every word that I was thinking. This is going to be bad. She's furious and now she thinks I'm a total creep.

She broke her stone cold expression and half-smiled mischievously. "I don't think you're a creep." Then she hugged me.

I could've died. What the hell was happening? She pulled her head back and looked me in the eyes. We all know this position. I wasn't dumb. This was the part of the movie where the girl says something cute and then kisses her partner.

"And just in case you thought the first time was a dream…" There's the cute line… And then she leaned in and kissed me. Told you. This one lasted a long time, and I returned the favor. She pulled me into her room and shut the door; next thing I knew, I was on her bed.

I'll spare you the details, but it was a heavenly night. We didn't _do _anything, we just made out for a while. I remember looking into her eyes after we settled down a bit and asking, "Is this us now?"

She smiled. "Possibly."

"Why now? Why did you do this tonight?"

"Because…" she started, "…because I wanted you."

That wasn't like Raven, but it was good enough for me. It was a dream come true. "I never thought that all of… this… would happen."

She smiled again. "This… this could be a possibility."

I smiled back for the first time. It was nice to see her so happy. To be honest, I had never been happier either. That night we both fell asleep staring into each others eyes.

I woke up that morning in my room. I had opened my eyes expecting to see the beautiful face of raven looking back at me, but all I saw were the walls of my own room. First confusion swept over me, then disappointment. It had been a dream. I knew it was too good to be true. I fell back into my bed and sighed. Who was I kidding? Something like that would never happen, especially with a girl like Raven.

My door opened and Raven stepped in. Her hood was up this time, she looked very solemn. This was the Raven that I had always known, but honestly I wasn't too happy to see her like that. She closed the door behind her. "Hi."

"Hey Raven, what are you doing in my room? You never come into my room." Ok, let me say something first. Take note, at this point I thought that everything that had happened was a dream, and I was completely weirded out.

"Did you enjoy last night?" Raven must have guessed or read what I was thinking.

"Uhh…" I couldn't take much more of this. I had no idea what was going on at that moment.

"Oh please… of course you did. You've wanted to do that for years."

"Do what?"

"Beast Boy," she stared me in the eyes. "Last night was not a dream."

I was hit with the feeling of excitement, I couldn't suppress a smile. "It was fun. I've been dying to do that with you."

She sighed. "Me too, actually." the mischievous Raven that I experienced last night was gone. "Look, Beast Boy, last night was amazing."

"Yes it was."

"But…" she looked away. "That wasn't me."

"You are _totally _screwing with my mind right now. What is going on?" I wasn't mad, I was just hopelessly confused.

"Well, it wasn't entirely me. It was lust."

"Of course it was lust, I had it too. That doesn't mean it wasn't you."

"No, you don't understand. You were with my emoticlone, Lust."

"I thought those things only existed in your mind, Raven."

"They do, but this one took ahold of me. Sometimes an emotion gets so strong that I have a hard time controlling it. You've seen it happen before with Rage."

I nodded. For some reason I thought that Rage was the only clone she struggled with. "So yesterday was a mistake? A regret? One time only?" I said, deflated.

"Look, Beast Boy, Lust didn't just randomly take over and make out with the first guy she found." She came closer to me and lowered her hood. "They were all feelings that I had, and they became so strong that I just couldn't control it anymore. It consumed me, and then…"

"… and then last night happened." I said. "I understand."

"No you don't understand. My every move was controlled by Lust, but I was still there experiencing everything with you. It was still me, kind of. What I'm trying to say is that I still want this to be a possibility, but with me this time."

"The real you?"

"Yes! I just couldn't make you think that yesterday was entirely me and then disappoint you later. You know me Beast Boy, I'm not usually like that."

"Believe me," I laughed, "I know." She hugged me. "Are we an us?"

"I would like that." She said, kissing me on the forehead. "But let's keep us between us, okay? See you tonight?" she winked.

"Yeah!" I wouldn't miss it for the world. "Wait, I'm not talking to Lust again am I?"

"Not anymore Beast Boy. She just opened the door for all of this to happen."

"I guess I owe her some thanks." I said.

"I'll let her know." She walked out the door. "Until tonight."

I was smart enough to be worried at that point. Ecstatic, yes, but still worried. Raven had lost control and an emoticlone had completely taken over for her. This time it happened to lead to something good, but what if Rage got out again? If Raven couldn't control an emotion like Lust, how could I count on her to control Rage, Rude, or even Brave? I gave her the benefit of the doubt that day, but it wouldn't be long until I realized that Raven had completely lost control.


	2. Chapter 2: Losing Sleep

**:(Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. All content is not intended for personal gain, nor infringement of copyright laws):**

**Author's Note: So here's chapter two. I'm trying to avoid any kind of hardcore, unreadable BBRAE fluff, but some of the scenes are important in order to understand the relationship that they are in. Beast Boy is unsure of it all, and Raven is really into it. That's just the way it has to be. This is the last chapter where this kind of fluff will be present. Hang in there! As always, thanks for reading and reviewing! :)**

Chapter 2: Losing Sleep

The last few months had gone fast; I hadn't realized how fast it actually went until it was all over. Here I am, thinking about it, and Raven is out there destroying the city. Clearly Rage had consumed Raven much like the way Lust had, but how come Raven had been able to overcome Lust? Lust, a force that overrides all rationality in the human race, was easily as commanding as Rage, but for some reason Raven wasn't able to regain control of herself.

I knew that at this moment, Raven was in there somewhere trying to claw her way back into command of herself, and it wasn't working. So it was up to the outside world to bring her out. It was up to the Titans.

Well, the _other _Titans.

I'm here refusing to fight because I know I can't bring myself to hurt Raven, even if she is wearing the face of Rage. But still I felt regret. I had the city counting on me, I had my team in need of my help, and I spat in their faces. There was no stopping her though when she was consumed by Rage, I knew that. The other Titans knew it too, but refusing to try the impossible was not something that Robin was fond of.

Deep down he knew - Raven could potentially wish the world out of existence, and the only reason she didn't was because Raven learned to master her emotions and reduce her power to the point where it wasn't destructive and unpredictable. But Rage was different. She was pure, unbridled, unrestrained power - and there was no stopping it with another force.

The only way to stop her was to give our Raven control again. But we had to confront Rage, and Rage had to be reasoned with. It was a longshot, but I believed it was the only shot that we had. As I walked out of my room and ran down the hallways, I once again found myself consumed in thought. Why did it have to go down like this? How come things went so bad so quickly?

"B.B., this never gets old." Raven said quietly.

We were in Raven's room - again. What night in a row was it? 15? I lost track. All I knew was that she was right. It didn't get old. It was like settling into a routine. I'd sneak to her room each night and we'd go from there.

I was on my back, looking up at the ceiling, and Raven had her head lying on my shoulder. "Are you, you?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Of course I am, you ask me every night."

"I guess I just can't believe that all this is happening. I never thought that you would get into something like this."

"Why?" she asked playfully.

"Because…" I had to choose my words carefully. Raven was like a cluster bomb of emotions lately. I never knew how she would react. "Well you've always been… I don't know… reclusive. You never really got close to anybody."

"I was afraid of forming bonds like I am now with you. I thought it might cause me to lose control." she replied, almost too seriously. "I guess I just felt the need for such a bond - an intimate one - which is why Lust got out. It's hard to suppress such powerful emotions, I don't think anyone realizes what a mental toll it takes on me. I let my guard down for a second and my emotions just seized the opportunity, I guess. But I'm me, I promise. Lust just opened the door, the real Raven is still here."

"Good. Raven, I… I…" I stuttered.

"Yes?"

"I… I'm glad that this is you now. You seem so much happier." It wasn't the right time to say it yet - The 'L' word - that was something horny teenagers through around like it was somebody's first name. Soon, maybe, but not now. Something was still clawing at my mind; something that told me that this 'new' Raven was just another emoticlone.

"I am, really. I've never felt so alive." She seemed a little disappointed. Clearly she was hoping I'd drop the L bomb.

I almost chuckled. _Keep 'em wanting more, I guess. _"I'm glad I could help." I joked.

She laughed quietly and rested her head on my arm and we sat in silence. When I knew she was asleep I carefully positioned her back on her pillow and I walked back to my room.

Tomorrow morning we'd act like nothing had happened; we'd act like we didn't like each other. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg would have no idea that anything was going on between us, and that's the way that Raven wanted it. I don't know if it was because she was afraid of being judged, or because she wanted to withhold the illusion that she would never bond with anybody, but Raven made it very clear not to tell anybody - ever.

As I stepped outside I got a call from Robin on my communicator. "She's gone, but we don't know for how long." Robin sounded very out of breath.

"What happened?"

"Cyborg blasted her."

"_Blasted her?"_

"Well his arm cannon wasn't on full power. In fact it wasn't even _close _to full power…" Robin sounded angry. I assumed that Cyborg was in the vicinity of that sentence.

I was right. I heard Cyborg's voice from nearby on the other end. "I know you said to give her everything we've got… I just couldn't do it. I mean, it still looks like Raven."

"That's because she _is _Raven." I said.

Robin spoke up again. "Anyway, Cyborg hit her and she fell to the ground. Before we could get to her she teleported somewhere. Where, however, is anyone's guess. We're going to start our search underground."

"Don't bother. If Rage is still in control - she'll come back on her own and find you. If Raven happened to get her body back then we have nothing to worry about. Trust me, Rage isn't one to back off and hide in a corner. Rage is all about full frontal assault."

"I know, Beast Boy," said Robin. "But we still have to look. You know that."

"Whatever you say, Robin. Just keep me posted." I shut off the communicator. At least we knew that Rage could be hurt. Who knows, maybe Raven had regained control when Rage was hit by Cyborg's beam.

I walked back inside the tower. If Robin called and needed me, I'd help; but I was seriously beginning to doubt that reasoning with Rage would work at all. Rage wouldn't listen to me. Even if I tried talking to the normal Raven she still probably wouldn't listen to me.

I sighed. Who could blame her? I was the idiot that messed up everything. I couldn't deny it any longer. Obviously it was my fault that she was consumed by Rage. I made her angry, I betrayed her trust, I messed up. I took something amazing and squandered it, all because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. The way things were going now, it looked like I'd never get to say I'm sorry.


	3. Chapter 3: I'm not Okay (I Promise)

**(I don't own the Teen Titans. No copyright infringement is intended.)**

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, readers! It is much appreciated. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. It is mostly flashbacks, but hey, most of the entire story is a flashback. ENJOY :)**

Chapter 3: I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Just hold still!"

"Raven!" I struggled to get away as Raven tried to fix my hair. "C'mon! I like it that way!"

Raven collapsed back into the bed in defeat. "You look like a doofus. Cowlicks have never been in style."

I got up and looked for a mirror. "Since when do you care about style?" I joked. "Besides, my hair always looks good."

She laughed. "Right… I think you just -" She got wide eyed with utter panic. "Don't touch that!"

"Wha-?" I then realized what I had done. Meaning to check my hair out in a mirror, I had grabbed one of Raven's mirrors. The mirror that led into her mind - into Nevermore. Memories of Cyborg and I's misadventure came flooding back to me. I dropped the mirror as if it was scolding hot.

Raven sighed in relief, glad that I hadn't actually looked into the mirror. "That could've been bad."

"Yeah…" I laughed nervously. "Sorry." My heart was pounding out of my chest from just thinking about how narrowly I had escaped potential disaster. "Why is that thing out anyway?"

"Don't worry about it." she replied, not really answering my question. "Come here." She patted the bed next her, wanting me to join her. How could I refuse?

That was three days ago, before things went south. That was the night before Rage engulfed Raven.

Okay, in hindsight, I never should have told Cyborg. But how in the world do you keep something like that to yourself, especially when you are a guy like me? I guess I was still in disbelief about the whole thing, so I thought that telling somebody would make it more real.

Cyborg didn't even seem that happy for me when I told him. "This has been going on for 3 weeks?!"

"Shhh! They'll hear you!" Robin had called us all out for dinner, but I caught Cyborg in the hallway. I just had to tell him.

"Don't you think it's kind of a bad idea?"

"Actually I think it's the best idea I've ever had." I replied, even though it wasn't even my idea in the first place. But hey, guys lie to guys about their relationships.

"Beast Boy, think about this for a second. Think about the fact that Raven's powers are emphasized by emotion, positive and negative. The stronger her emotion, the more powerful (and dangerous) she becomes. And you are handing her one of the strongest emotions that we can feel."

"Umm…"

"Love, Beast Boy! Raven thinks she is prepared for something like that, but she isn't. Nobody is! Love will take you over before you can blink."

"So? Love is a positive emotion, it's not like I'm handing her Rage on a silver platter." I replied.

"What if this thing you guys have going on ends ugly? What if Raven feels heartbreak? What if she feels angry about it?" Cyborg said.

Now I was seriously wondering why I had even told Cyborg. I thought I was letting him in on priceless information. Now I felt like I was going to throw up. Cyborg was right. If things got ugly, Raven could get ugly. This was a relationship that, if ended, would be apocalyptic. I was experiencing every man's worst nightmare - a relationship that is impossible to get out of. Granted, at the moment I didn't want it to end at all. But feeling like I could never end it made it less appealing and more frightening. Breaking up with Raven could have disastrous consequences.

Apparently Cyborg could tell what I was feeling. "You have to be careful B.B. Just remember who Raven is - she's not a regular girl. Let's go eat." Cyborg opened the doors into the living room.

"There you guys are! The pizza is still warm, there's plenty for everybody." Robin said when he saw us.

Raven looked at Cyborg strangely. My heart stopped as it dawned on me.

_Crap. I'm in a relationship with an empath. _I thought. _And a telepath. _I added, remembering one of Raven's less used powers. When something was up, Raven was the first to know. And right now, something was definitely up between Cyborg and I. _Maybe she won't notice. _I thought hopefully. Who was I kidding? I might has well have just walked into dinner with three heads.

Then Raven looked at me. My head was spinning so fast that I had probably turned purple. I guess you didn't need to be an empath to figure out that something was wrong with me, but Raven could sense it in Cyborg and I. Something wasn't quite right. I assume she sensed my nervousness as well as Cyborg's feeling of shock and worry.

She raised an eyebrow. "What were you two talking about back there?" She asked suspiciously.

"We were just…" I started. Cyborg just took a bite out of his slice of pizza and looked at me. He wanted no part of this. I was on my own. "We were…" I couldn't finish the sentence. I felt Raven make her way into my mind as she read my thoughts. I was dead meat.

"You TOLD him?!" The T.V. shattered. The microwave exploded. For a moment there was a look of hurt, and then, unmistakably, embarrassment. In the blink of an eye, they were replaced by pure anger. She grew to the height of the ceiling and her four red eyes appeared. "YOU TOLD HIM." Not a question anymore.

"YOU TOLD HIM!" Her demon voice was in full control now. There was no questioning it: Rage was in control now.

"Raven, stop!" Robin yelled. Raven's energy lifted Robin off the ground and threw him against a wall.

"Oof!" Robin managed as the wind was knocked out of him. He fell to the floor with a bone-chilling lifeless thud. He didn't move.

"RAVEN PLEASE!" Starfire yelled. "STOP! We are your friends. Do not harm us!"

"Raven I'm sorry. I am so, so, so sorry." I could feel tears in my eyes. How could I have been so dumb?

"YOU DID THE ONE THING THAT I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO!" She screamed. The windows all cracked. the building started to shake.

"RAVEN STOP!" I yelled. "Don't lose control!"

For a moment, the four red eyes disappeared, and I could see Raven again. The Raven that I loved, and the Raven that I felt unbearably guilty for betraying. She looked me in the eyes and I saw sadness. Then I saw pain. Her head whipped back in agony as her four red eyes returned again. She screamed.

"Rage is taking over." Cyborg said, arm cannon ready to fire. Thanks for the update, captain obvious.

Starfire was at Robin's side, shaking him in an attempt to get him to move. "Raven, look what you have done!"

To my surprise Raven actually looked, and Rage disappeared for a second. Raven shrank back to normal height, but she had her head in her hands as she felt Rage try to take over again. We all took a step back. She stumbled about as she fought it off.

Her hands then fell to her sides. I thought she had beaten it; somehow managed to hold off Rage for good. She looked at me with unmistakable sadness and said. "I'm sorry." Then Rage took over again, and there was nobody trying to fight it off now.

It laughed - a sound that sent shivers down our spines - and then it created a portal and fell through the floor. Just like that, Rage was gone, and the tower was a disaster. Robin had gotten up, much to the relief of Starfire, who hugged him tight.

Cyborg looked at me and didn't say a word.

"You were right."

"Yeah, but I wish I wasn't."

All of our communicators then sounded. "Trouble!" Robin said almost instinctively. His face fell as he looked at the cracked T.V. monitor displaying exactly what kind of trouble it was. "It's Raven."

"It's already begun." Cyborg said.


	4. Chapter 4: Every Time I Look For You

**(I don't own the Teen Titans. No copyright infringement is intended. )**

**Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it. This is a big lead up into the next chapter or two, which may turn out to be lengthy. I would like to inform everyone that this will most likely be a 10 chapter story arc, with the climax in chapter 5-7. Just a head's up in case you are wondering how long I plan on dragging this out. Thanks to all who have taken the time to review :) Please feel free to ask me any questions in the reviews, I will answer them at the end of each chapter.**

**Until Next Time, **

**-valenciabelieves**

Chapter 4: Every Time I Look For You The Sun Goes Down

The door had one word on it, a name: Raven. When I saw that name on her door tonight tonight, I read it aloud to myself.

"_Raven." _

That name on the door didn't just signify a person; it signified a room in which everyone was forbidden to enter. Until a few months ago it was a place that the entire team avoided like the plague; not so much because of the room itself being creepy, but because of the person who inhabited it. None of us even wanted to imagine what would happen if Raven found one of us snooping around in her room.

Don't get me wrong, we all loved Raven and knew that she would always be our friend, but crossing her wasn't something any of us wanted on our agenda. I used to have nightmares where Raven would catch me sneaking around in her room. She would then proceed to send me to another dimension.

"_Raven." _I said again.

It was a room that contained memories that I would cherish forever. It was a room that contained a keyhole view of Raven's personality and habits. It was a room that was as mysterious as it was unwelcoming; but when I opened the door and stepped inside, I had never felt more at home.

I looked around the room. I had spent more nights here than in my own bedroom in the past couple of months. Not that it was a bad thing, of course. As good as it felt to be in here again, something was missing. Rather, someone was missing.

"_Raven."_

I went to her bed and sat down, trying not to think about the mayhem that was possibly occurring downtown at the moment. I looked around at the expanse of books, at the random artifacts and sculptures that Raven cherished. Her closet was open, revealing four of her trademark blue cloaks, and four black leotards. I don't think she owns any other clothing.

I stood up and idly walked to her dresser. There was a book on it. Books were something that I usually ignored, but I picked this one up. It wasn't just a book, it was a diary. It wasn't your normal girls' diary that was pink and decorated with flowers. This one was jet black and had the word "Diary" on it in thin red letters, which had clearly been scribbled on there by Raven herself.

Overcome with curiosity, I opened it and flipped through the pages.

Empty.

Every single page was blank. Not that I was surprised, I didn't think Raven would be one that could keep up with a diary. I set it down and my hand bumped something else, something that could potentially be the answer to the problem or Rage: Her mirror.

Careful not to look into it just yet, I thought about what looking in would mean. I would enter into either Raven's mind, or Rage's mind. Trying to maintain positive thinking, I would assume that I entered Raven's mind. From there I would search for and find Raven. Best case scenario, I would be able to help her regain control. I would then help her suppress Rage, and I would find the way out and everything would go back to normal. And all of that is assuming that Raven is willing to accept help from the guy who betrayed her trust completely.

Worst case scenario, I enter Rage's mind and burn in the inferno.

After weighing the options, I decided it was probably not a good idea to look into the mirror, but considering everything that was going on, it might be the best shot I had at stopping this whole mess. If Raven was capable of regaining control on her own, she would have done so already. At least if I went into her mind and was able to find her, I might be able to help her restrain Rage.

As I turned my head to look down at the mirror that I held in my hand, I subconsciously said one last thing aloud to myself. Maybe it was for good luck, maybe it was because I was trying to tell the mirror where I wanted to go.

"_Raven."_

I looked in and felt darkness wash over me.


	5. Chapter 5: The Sharpest Lives

(**I don't own the teen titans. No copyright infringement intended)**

AN: **Hey guys, this chapter is kind of a dinosaur, or it sure feels like it. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. Warning: There is kind of a death, but nothing you can't handle. You'll understand when you get there. As always, thanks for reading and commenting!)**

Chapter 5: The Sharpest Lives

The first thing I noticed was how cold it was, or at least it was much colder than I remembered it. Welcome to Nevermore. It wasn't until now that I realized how much I didn't miss this place at all. Being here alone was almost scary - I tried to comfort myself by reminding myself that this was Raven's mind, not hell itself.

Or so I thought.

I still had no way of knowing whether this world was now one of Rage, or if Nevermore was simply the gateway to the existence of all parts of Raven, no matter which emotion has control. I hoped for the latter.

I was in a similar place that Cyborg and I ended up in the first time I visited Nevermore. It was a rocky path in the middle of nothingness. I walked to the edge of the path and looked down. What I saw was complete nothingness - just darkness into infinity. My mind idly wondered what would happen if I fell over the edge. I shook away the thought, not really wanting to imagine what would happen should I do so.

"Remember what you are here for. You have to find Raven." I said aloud. I gathered my surroundings. The path in front me was seemingly endless, with rock arches placed along the path every 200 yards or so. If memory served me right, walking through one of those arches would lead me to another part of Raven's mind. Behind me the path led to a dead end, with a large boulder placed a few feet before the path dropped off into the abyss.

I decided to take my chances walking through one of the arches. I was relieved that Nevermore so far was very similar to what it had been like previously.

I shivered. _Well, except for the temperature. _I thought. I guess finding it cold would be better than finding the place on fire, which was what I half-expected to find when I came here.

After a minute or two of walking, I reached the arch. Not hesitating, I closed my eyes and walked through. If I remembered correctly, the first would take me to the dwelling of 'Happy' Raven. To be honest, that was probably the best place to start.

When I walked through I opened my eyes and immediately realized that this was not Happy's dwelling. Which emotion was contained here (if any) was anybody's guess. The terrain was very rocky, with rock statues coming from the ground as far as the eye could see. Nearby was what appeared to be the tallest of the monuments. Something was waving in the wind on the very top of it. I turned into a bird and flew to the top of it, hoping to get a better look at my surroundings from the top of the monument.

I almost fell from the sky when I realized what was waving in the wind. It was Raven's cloak. Someone had put it underneath a large rock on top of the monument, creating some sort of makeshift flag with it. I regained my ability to see in color when I turned back into a human and stood atop the monument. I noticed that this was Raven's cloak, but it was one of her emotions: an emotion that wore a dark green cloak.

_Brave._

The cloak was almost in shreds, and was covered in red stains - probably blood. It was clear that Brave had gotten in a fight with someone, and had lost. The fact that this battered flag was flying in the air made it obvious that whoever she fought wanted the result of the battle to be known by all. If Brave had gotten in a brawl with Rage, then Rage was sending a message to all of the emoticlones revealing exactly what happens when you cross her.

If Rage could get all of the emoticlones to do her will, then there was no question that Rage could take over Raven completely. Last time she had beaten Rage because all of her emoticlones joined forces - but without them, Rage would be a tough challenger to overcome. And all of the emoticlones that refused to side with Rage would be made an example of. It was a brilliant plan, actually.

After examining the green cloak, I examined my surroundings from atop the stone pillar. I kept looking around until I found exactly what I was looking for: another arch. I changed into a falcon and flew to it. Seeing as though there was nothing out here but the remains of Brave and a bunch of rocks, I decided to go through it. This time I just ran right in.

Right away I knew that this was where I would find Raven - mostly because there seemed to be hundreds of her walking around this place. They were everywhere - all with different colored cloaks - and they seemed to be walking around aimlessly or simply standing in place.

When I stepped through that gateway they all turned and looked right at me. I heard my name being whispered in the masses.

"It's Beast Boy…"

"How'd he get in here?"

"What do we do…"

"I think we are supposed to be attacking him…"

"Rage didn't say what to do about intruders… I don't think she knew there would be any intruders."

These were all whispers that I heard as a made my way through the crowd. Nobody was moving now, and as I walked through they all parted as if they were making a path for me. They all must have been under the influence of Rage, but not brainwashed or anything. If anything, they all looked pretty depressed about this whole situation.

The path they made suddenly ended, and a black-cloaked Raven stepped out form the crowd and stood about twenty feet in front of me. All eyes were on us. The black-cloaked emoticlone looked around at the crowd and made a motion with her hand as if she was shooing them all off. Immediately the path closed and the Ravens started walking every which way. It was like standing in downtown Jump City, just like a busy street intersection.

Through the crowd I could still see the black-cloaked Raven still standing where she had been before. I walked to her. Her hood was up, and all I could see was her eyes and the lower part of her face. Her irises were black like her cloak, and they start at me with a dull, uninterested look. As soon as I got close to her she grabbed my arm and tugged me by her side. "Follow me." Her voice was dark, deep, and threatening. Whatever emotion this was, I was glad that I had never seen Raven display it.

"What is going on here?" I asked as she pulled me through the crowd.

"You shouldn't be here."

"I need to see Raven."

No response. The crowd was getting thinner as we walked on. "What are they all doing?"

"Acting busy." she responded. "Rage has scared them into obeying her commands. She told us to all stay in this realm. Rage is calling all of the shots now."

"How come Raven can't overcome Rage? How come all of you have to obey?"

"Rage has the most power in this place. More power than any of the other emoticlones combined, and she will destroy anybody who stands in her way. It's because all of the power of Trigon is contained in that single emotion. It's a wonder how Raven was able to hold her off for so long."

We had walked beyond the point where there were any emoticlones, and I could see around me for the first time. I wished that I couldn't.

We were walking on a path, and just off the path was a body. I stopped and the black cloaked Raven saw what I was looking at. The body was that of an emoticlone, but given it wasn't wearing a cloak I deduced that this was Brave, who's cloak was in the other realm that I had visited. Her body was brutally beat up, covered in bruises, and one of her legs had burns running all the way up it. The rest of her body was covered in deep cuts and scratches. She lay in a pool of blood.

"That's why Rage has total control." she pulled me along the path again, and we walked past the body.

"Then how come you are helping me?" I asked, turning away from the body. My voice was weak, faint, and scared.

"Rage doesn't control me." she replied, not taking her eyes off of the path in front of her. "But Rage only told everyone else to make sure Raven remains weak. She said nothing about intruders. And as long as Rage doesn't know that you are here, you might actually be able to fix this whole mess."

"This can be fixed?" I asked, relieved and hopeful.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

As we advanced along the path, I once again realized how expansive this place really was. Every way that I looked, I saw barren land as far as the eye could see. Except for the rocky path we were on, everything else was dirt. There wasn't a single plant or other sign of life in sight. There was no sun, and the sky was completely black; but somehow, the entire place was lit as if it were daylight.

We kept walking in silence for while after that, and we reached the end of the path. She pulled me off the path and we walked through the dust for thirty seconds or so. Then the black-cloaked Raven knelt down and swept some dirt around off of the ground, revealing a wooden door in the ground. She opened it and jumped into it.

After she jumped in I waited apprehensively outside the door, looking down into it. I couldn't see the bottom, and was a bit nervous about following this mysterious incarnation of Raven into a dark hole in the ground. Suddenly a light flickered on somewhere down there, and the black-cloaked Raven called up to me. "Come on!"

I decided that I might as well go in, considering I had come this far already. It was probably a 20 foot drop, but I turned into a cat before I hit the ground. The black-cloaked Raven had was lighting candles around the room, which was about the size of my bedroom. A table and some chairs stood in the middle of the room, and a small bed was tucked in the corner of the place.

I used this opportunity to ask some questions. "Where is the actual Raven?"

She lit the last candle and motioned me to sit at the table. She joined me and started, "Rage has locked Raven up in a different realm of Raven's mind - the realm where Rage is usually contained."

She must have seen the confused look on my face, because she went on to further explain how Raven's mind was set up. "You know that arch you went through? Those are scattered about Raven's mind, each one leading to a different 'Realm'. Each realm contains one or more different emoticlones. Right now you are in the realm of sadness."

"Why are there so many emoticlones?" I asked. Originally I had thought there were maybe 9 or so emoticlones that Raven had to deal with, but I had seen hundreds when I had entered this realm.

"There are many different incarnations of the same emotion, but they all differ slightly. Rage, for example, is just a carnation of the main emoticlone Anger. There are 7 main emoticlones: Love, Happiness, Sadness, Fear, Knowledge, Brave, and Anger. The 7 main emoticlones are the most powerful, and their subparts are weaker - because they are not a source of that pure emotion, and are typically just a diluted version of that emotion. For example, Love is the superior emotion, but off of it branches lust, envy, jealousy, and all of the like. Sadness is the superior emotion to its subparts, such as gloom, melancholy, timid, guilt, regret, etc."

"Uhhh…" I tried to take everything in. I didn't think that there was this much to all of this emoticlone business.

"I know it is hard to wrap your mind around, but Raven spends most of her time suppressing those seven emotions, simply because they are the most powerful. If one of those emotions got out, her powers would become very, very powerful, and possibly uncontrollable." she said.

"But Rage isn't one of those seven, so how come Rage is so powerful? Wouldn't Raven be better able to control a sub-part of the main emotion?" I assumed that Rage would have stemmed from Anger.

"Rage is a special case. Rage is really fueled by Trigon himself. Raven's demon blood is the reason for Rage's existence. So, while Rage is still and emotion that Raven must control and suppress, its influence is further amplified by the fact that her father is supplementing it with power."

"But we destroyed Trigon." I said, knowing full well that it obviously didn't matter whether or not Trigon had been bested.

"Even if Trigon was truly dead, it doesn't change the fact that part of Raven is derived from Trigon, as he is her father. Part of him will always be within her - it's a curse that she must live with forever. Unfortunately, the power of Trigon is contained in Rage, which is why that emotion is so powerful. Essentially, Trigon _is _Rage. That's also why Raven is having so much trouble regaining control of her own body at the moment. Other emoticlones don't take full control of Raven's body the way that Rage does."

Thinking back to my night with Lust, I said "But Lust was able to get out and control Raven."

"Lust became significant enough that Raven was overcome by that emotion, but Lust did not take control, even though Raven thought Lust did. Lust became a significant influence on Raven's decision making, but Lust did not herself make the decisions. Everything Raven did that night with you came from Raven herself, even though she felt the influence of Lust. Think of it like being buzzed from a couple of beers, she was still coherent enough to make her own decisions."

"I've never been buzzed."

"You know what I mean, "she said, brushing my joke aside. "Rage, on the other hand, has complete control of Raven's actions. In fact, the actual Raven is trapped in here with no real interaction with the outside world. She can sense what is happening out there, but there is nothing that she can do about it."

"But there is a way we can help, right?" I asked. I hoped that the black-cloaked Raven wasn't going to end this whole speech with something like - 'there is absolutely no way that Raven will ever be in control again. Sorry.'

But, she said "Yes, you can help, but not from in here. I can show you the way out - but there are things to be done first. I'm glad you came, had I not been able to speak with you, Raven may have been lost to Rage forever."

"What is there to do first?"

"You need to talk to Raven. I could tell you what must be done, but if you didn't hear it from Raven herself you would never follow orders."

That scared me to hear. "You aren't afraid of Rage, are you?"

"Rage doesn't control me."

"Which emoticlone are you? Which emotion do you stem from?" I asked. It was something that I had been wondering for a while now.

"I am not exactly an emotion, nor do I stem from any particular main emotion. I am the counterpart of Rage, Raven's other half. Part of Raven's blood comes from Trigon, who is personified as Rage, and the other part comes from me."

"You're…" I said, wide-eyed. I understood, and I was dumbfounded at the same time.

"Hope."

"Yeah, but if you are the counterpart of Rage, and Rage is Raven's father, Trigon; then you must be…"

"Yes. I am her mother, Arella. Nice to meet you."


	6. Chapter 6: Head in Hands

**(I don't own the teen titans. No copyright infringement intended)**

**AN: The actual Raven makes an appearance! It's been a long time since that's happened. Well, we seem to be nearing the final few chapters... :'( but it's only been a week since I began this story, so all you followers will get to see a fanfic that actually ends! yay! As always, thanks for the flattering reviews. Keep 'em coming, reviews are the way that author's know that their work is being read, and it also helps us know whether or not we are writing total crap. And that goes for every story you read!**

**Enjoy!**

**-valenciabelieves **

Chapter 6: Head in Hands

She pulled her hood down, and just as Rage looked like Raven, so did Hope. She had beautiful eyes just like Raven, and a similar expression to that Raven always had. Hope had longer hair that went past her shoulders, but everything else was near identical to that of Raven herself.

I had not spoken since she told me who she was, so I was left standing there dumbfounded and looking like an idiot. I probably would have kept standing like that, but she broke the silence. "Before you panic because you are meeting your girlfriend's mom, just remember that I am as much her mom as Rage is her dad. I'm more a shadow of her than anything else, I'm not entirely her mother in the flesh."

"That is hardly a calming bit of information, actually." I said shakily. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down a little bit. What was the big deal anyway? I had bigger things to worry about than making a good impression. "So what now?"

"Now you talk to Raven." she said, and she sat down in the cross-legged meditation position that I had seen Raven get into so many times before.

"I thought you said she was locked up in a different realm, how will I go and talk to her?"

"Well, you certainly won't just walk up and talk to her face to face, seeing that she is guarded by all of the sub-parts of Anger. I don't think you could handle them." She said, and grinned for the first time tonight. She had her daughter's sense of humor, making fun of my fighting capabilities. I opened my mouth to interject, but she interrupted. "I can temporarily form a bond between Raven and I, one that will exchange our consciousness for a short while. In the outside world this would be a nearly impossible feat, but seeing as though Raven and I are essentially the same person, it is actually quite easy to accomplish. It may not go unnoticed by the guards, but while I am assuming her body I should be able to divert their attention from the fact that I am not her at all. When I get in contact with her in a few moments, she will enter my body and you will be able to talk with her yourself. Take note that her mental condition is weak, she has been brutally treated since this whole thing began."

"Again I ask, why can't you tell me yourself? Why take the risk of blowing my cover?"

"Again I say, you will not do what I would tell you. Raven must tell you herself."

"How do you know that she knows what to do?" I asked. What if Raven had no idea how to stop Rage?

"Because she almost overcame Rage. Almost. You will soon understand, I promise." And with that, along with an intense amount of focus, I saw as a dark energy left her body, followed by another one entering it.

I took a step back as Raven (or who I thought was now Raven) gasped for air and fell forward, breathing heavily. "Raven?" I asked hesitantly.

She looked up and jumped to her feet. She ran to me and hugged me tight. "Beast Boy, I'm so sorry." A tear ran down her cheek.

I was the one who messed everything up, and she was sorry? "Not as sorry as I am. I'm the one who made you do this. I set Rage free."

"But because of you, because you were brave enough to venture to Nevermore, there is still hope to fix this." She let go of me and stepped back, looking down at the ground. She looked as if she was very near to breaking down. She also looked as if she were in immense pain. "Besides, it would've happened eventually, don't blame this on yourself." She reminded me of Timid. "It could have been anything, burning my hand on the stove, stubbing my toe… Rage was just waiting for the right time to strike." She rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache. "I… I… I…" She broke down onto her knees and sobbed into her hands.

I got down with her and put my arms around her. This was a mentally broken Raven, one who had been completely beaten to the point that she broke down like this. Raven could usually prevent such sadness from even being displayed, but not now, not like this. "Raven, we'll fix this."

She looked up at me with sadness in her eyes, with obvious dread of what was to come. "You have to stop me." Then she looked away and closed her eyes.

"Raven, I won't stop _you, _I will stop Rage. Rage is doing this, not you."

"But it _feels _like its me. When Rage is out there, doing all of those things, I can feel it. I can sense it. I have no choice but to _experience _it. I experience all of her pain, anger, and everything else that she feels. And it hurts. Beast Boy, I felt what it's like to kill people, to hurt our friends, and that's something that I will have to live with forever."

"Raven, do not ever blame yourself for that. That was Rage, and nobody else. We will never believe that it was you who did those things, nobody will." I said.

She nodded, but I could tell that she was not at all comforted. Who was I to blame her? She had experienced what it was like to murder somebody, something that I hoped to never experience in my entire life. And she was forced to experience it because she had no control over her actions. "Hope said that you almost regained control. She said that you knew how to stop Rage."

"When Cyborg blasted Rage, he weakened it. It allowed me to temporarily regain control. I knew it wouldn't last long, so I teleported her far away from anything. I fought her off for a couple of minutes, but she outlasted me and regained full control very quickly. I ended up back here, mentally exhausted and nearly incapacitated."

"So what you're saying is that we need to do that again? So maybe then you can regain full control of yourself this time?" I asked. I knew there was more to it than that though. That was simply me being hopeful. I was waiting for the part that Hope wanted me to hear from Raven herself. The part that would be difficult for me to do.

"Yes, but…"

Here it comes.

"Beast Boy, you're going to have to hurt her. Bad. That's the only chance I have of taking control away from her." she said nervously.

It couldn't be that simple. "Will you feel her pain when I hurt Rage?"

She nodded as she started crying again. "But you have to do it. You will have to hurt me - it - to the breaking point. If necessary to the point of near…" she shuttered. "…death."

I gulped. "Raven, I don't know if I can…"

"And Rage will use that against you. But you can't let up, Beast Boy. The more you weaken her, the easier it will be for me to get out."

"But the more I hurt her, the more you are hurt when you regain control."

"I know. I won't lie, Beast Boy, I'm scared. I don't want to feel what it's like to approach death, I don't want to feel what it is like for you to hurt me like that. But it is the only chance that we have, otherwise…" she paused. "Otherwise the only way to stop Rage would be to kill her."

I said nothing. I was thinking about how hard it would be to hurt Raven, even when Rage had taken her over. I wondered how I could possibly beat her to the point of _near death._ But if Raven said it was the only way, then it was truly the only way.

Raven stood up, and I followed suit. "I'm sorry that you have to do this, Beast Boy." She hugged me. "I know it's going to be hard."

"We're going to get you out of here. I promise." I let her go.

She stepped back and amidst all of the dry tears, she smiled. I'm glad she did, because it was the last thing I saw before her energy left Hope's body, and Hope's energy returned.


	7. Chapter 7: Reckless Abandon

**I don't own the teen titans. No copyright infringement intended.**

Chapter 7: Reckless Abandon

Hope breathed heavily on the ground for a second, as I stood watching her. "How did it-" I started.

"Fine. It was fine." She said quickly. "Do you know what you need to do?" she asked, studying my face intently.

I gulped. "Yes."

She knew exactly what that meant, and she nodded simply. She then put a chair under the trapdoor and stood on it before she reached up and opened the door. "You should leave quickly. You need to return to your world before Rage does any further damage. I got a glimpse of the pain that Raven was feeling - I don't think she can take it much longer."

I didn't get the impression that Raven had been unable to bear the pain physically, but then again, Raven was the master of hiding what was really going on inside her. "How do I get out of here?"

She lead me outside and pointed in a seemingly random direction. "If you go straight that way, you will eventually reach an arch that will lead you to the outside world. It will be made of black stone. When you go through it you will be transported back to the portal that lead you into Nevermore."

_The mirror, _I thought. I held out my hand to Hope. "Thank you, Arella."

She didn't return the handshake, she only put her hood back up. "Don't thank me yet."

Hurt, but not really surprised, I faced the direction that Hope had told me to travel. I briefly debated on whether to turn into a falcon or a cheetah, and decided on a falcon. It would require less energy, and I enjoyed travel by air anyway. I took a deep breath to prepare to morph.

"Beast Boy, Raven loves you. More than you could ever know."

I was already in the air when she finished that sentence.

` I flew full speed for a good 10 minutes before I saw the black stone arch. Without hesitation I descended from the sky and morphed back into my human self before hitting the ground. I stood before the arch for a moment, not really enjoying my last moments in Nevermore, and walked through.

Before I knew it I fell to the floor of Raven's room. It was as graceful a landing as I first remembered it. I took a breath of real air and got to my feet. I felt around on my utility belt, searching for my communicator. I needed to talk to the team and tell them what needed to be done. There was no way that I could bring Rage down on my own.

The communicator was not on my belt, which was something that has never happened to me before. Needlessly I felt panic wash over me as I frantically did a visual sweep of the room for it. Much to my relief it was on the other side of Raven's room. It must have been tossed to the ground on my reentrance into the real world. I walked over to it, looking around Raven's room as I did. A room can represent one's personality, and Raven's was no exception. Lighting in the room was scarce, and the tones of gray and muted purple that lined the walls reflected Raven's gloomy personality.

I picked up my communicator, realizing how much I missed the dull, monotone voice of Raven that I had come to cherish so deeply. Seeing her in Nevermore wasn't the reunion I had been hoping for, but there was still hope that I could give Raven the chance to overcome Rage, and things could go back to how they were. I realized how much I truly wanted things to go back to how they had been.

My finger hovered above the 'call' button on the communicator, but I hesitated to press it. Calling the team was the first step towards completing the plan that Raven had given to me; the first step towards beating Rage to a bloody pulp until it was weak enough for Raven to get out. It wasn't hurting Rage that bothered me, it was the worry that when Raven regained control, she would experience the pain that we had caused to Rage. It was her body, after all. I didn't find it feasible that the pain would go away just because Rage went away too.

There was no time to think about it now, though. I pressed the button. "Robin, Cy, Star - do you copy?" I said into the communicator. My voice shook a little bit, but I didn't care. I was intensely focused now on the fact that none of them had responded for ten seconds now.

I was about to call again when the static-infused voice of Robin came through. "Beast Boy! You have to get downtown, Rage is back and she is tougher than she was before. We haven't been very successful in holding her back."

"How bad is it?" I asked. I walked out of Raven's room and headed toward the tower's exit.

Cyborg's voice came through. "Very bad. This is the worst we've ever seen. Buildings have fallen, the roads are in pieces… Jump City General was burned to the ground."

Robin spoke again. "We need you out here, B.B. She's ripping the city apart, and she's on a killing spree."

In the background I could here what sounded like explosions, gunshots, and heavy stones falling. It sounded like a war zone. "Where is Starfire?"

"She's in the air, but she is fine. She's been transporting citizens to Jump City limits, trying to get them out of danger." Robin replied. "What is it you called us about?"

I had been so interested in all of these awful updates that I had to relay to them what Raven told me. "Guys, I talked to Raven in Nevermore. I'll explain later. She says the only way that she can regain control of her body is if we hurt Rage: bad. We need to giver her everything we've got."

"That's a great idea. It sounds like something I suggested FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!" Robin yelled.

"Cool it Robin!" Cyborg yelled back. "You're coming to help, right Beast Boy?"

"Yes, I think that I have to. Where are you guys at?"

"I'm at Lincoln and 5th." Cyborg replied.

"I'll be there shortly, we will all meet there." said Robin. "I'll get ahold of Star."

By now I was outside of Titans Tower, looking upon downtown Jump City. Smoke came from various spots along the horizon, one of the buildings that had forever occupied the skyline was now gone, as if it had never even been there. The sky was an ominous red as sunset approached. "I'll see you there in 5."

I morphed into a falcon again, something I had done too many times in the past two days. As I reached downtown I came to realize just how bad the city actually looked. Windows were broken, fire hydrants were spewing water, power lines were down… By now people had cleared the streets, but I was sure that a lot of them were still in some of these buildings that weren't completely demolished. It was obvious who was winning in this fight.

It wasn't like it was very surprising. When Raven unleashed all of her power, she was easily the most powerful of all titans. Luckily she kept them restrained, but Rage had no interest in doing that. Even us four against Rage would be tough odds to beat. I took a left on 5th, and saw the team standing in the middle of the street, talking to each other.

I landed by them and they all looked up at me. "I was giving them the details about Nevermore. Robin was confused about how you managed to talk to Raven." Cyborg said. "Rage disappeared again."

"I don't expect her to be gone for very long though. Anyway, that was risky to venture there, Beast Boy." Robin said."But I'm glad you did, tell me exactly what Raven said. She wants us to obliterate Rage?"

I recalled her exact words. "We have to hurt her until she reaches a breaking point." I took a deep breath. "If necessary, to the point of near death." I let that sink in. "When Cyborg hit Rage the first time, Raven was able to regain control for a short time and teleport her far away. When Rage took the control back I assume she came back here to bring more havoc to the city."

"My cannon wasn't even on low power… how come I can't hit her again with that? Why do we need to…" Cyborg shuttered. "Come close to _killing her?"_

"Raven is not strong anymore. She used a lot of energy trying to regain control the first time. She won't be able to do it again unless Rage is very, very, very weak." Robin said. It was just like always, Robin could figure these things out.

I nodded. "When Raven gets out, we'll know. But I wouldn't expect Rage to go down without a fight."

Starfire spoke up. "I'm sorry, but what if after she reaches her weakest state, Raven cannot regain control?"

I'll admit, it wasn't a question that I wanted to think about, let alone provide an honest answer to. The best that I could do in order to keep up with the plan was to convince myself that we wouldn't take the plan that far. We wouldn't harm her to near death, and we certainly wouldn't beat her to complete death. Still, however, we all have a duty to the city: we vow to protect it from all dangers, even if that danger comes from the team itself.

Nobody answered Starfire's question, but it wasn't one that really needed an answer. We all knew that if Raven couldn't get out, we would have to finish her. No matter how hard I could try to convince myself otherwise, if it became certain that Raven was beyond saving, then we would destroy her body. It was the only way to remove Rage from our world, and prevent it from doing further harm on the city.

I heard a couple of clicks, and then the familiar sound of Cyborg adjusting his weaponry. We all looked at him. He held up his arm as it transformed into the cannon he always used. "Full power." Not many people knew this, but Cyborg almost never used his arm cannon at maximum power. We weren't really in the business of incinerating bad guys anyway.

Starfire shuttered. "I too will not hold back."

I began to hear the sound of metal being crushed and objects being hurled into buildings a few blocks away. "She's back." Robin said.

None of us moved. This was it, it was go time. Just another routine bad guy for us to fight, just another time for us to team up and kick some butt.

But it wasn't.

We were going after one of our own, with the full intent of turning her into a bloody mess, and none of us were eager to put the plan into action. Even Robin, it seemed, who had suggested such a plan from the very beginning, was hesitant in heading for the sound of Rage's carnage. He stood in front of us, a leader giving final words to his team.

None of us would admit it, but we all looked up to Robin. His confidence, courage, selflessness, and leadership were inspiring. And at this very moment, as the sound of Rage came closer and closer, he stood tall and looked at each one of us. He looked at me last, and in his determined expression I saw something else - something that gave me the courage to take the first step forward.

Hope.

We saw a giant shadow cover the intersection a few blocks in front of us, followed by the enormously tall manifestation of Rage as she wandered through the streets, leaving wreckage in her path. Dark, black energy flowed from the bottom of her cloak in the shape of tentacles, which were flaring every which way. Their only obvious purpose was to grab anything within reach and throw it against a building. It was terrifying. Cyborg readied his cannon, and Starfire prepared her starbolts. Robin turned towards Rage and took out his staff. getting into a fighting stance. Even from a distance, I could see Rage's four red eyes with amazing clarity. She bared her sharp, pointed teeth, and started coming towards us.

Robin took one final look at me and said, "Let's go and save Raven." He turned and sprinted at Rage without any sense of fear. Robin and Rage came closer and closer to each other, each with the intention of making the first hit and setting the tone of the battle to come.

They nearly reached each other when Robin leapt into the air and coiled his staff around him like he was about to swing a baseball bat. With amazing acrobatics he dodged Rage's tentacles and seemed to fly through the air, reaching head-height of Rage, which was nearly twenty feet above the ground. With an expression and a grunt of utter fury, Robin swung his staff at Rage with all of his might. He struck her squarely in the head, and as Robin landed almost gracefully on the ground, Rage was thrown backwards.

Her tentacles writhed about madly, tearing bricks from buildings like they were legos. Rage got up from the ground quickly, and Robin wasted no time going after her again.

We had all been frozen in our places, but as Robin made his second move to strike Rage, we snapped into action and attacked.

It had begun.

**Authors Note: I know, I know, you all are furious that it took me three whole days to post this chapter. I am terribly sorry :[ But, here it is! don't worry, this story will be finished very soon. I finally got to write some action sequences, which I am not entirely sure I am actually good at, but hey, practice makes perfect! As always, please enjoy and let me know what you think!**

**-ValenciaBelieves**


	8. Chapter 8: Collision

**The penultimate penultimate chapter! Enjoy... No copyright infringement intended. **

Chapter 8: Collision

The interesting thing about this particular battle was that none of us had ever really been prepared to ever use full force when fighting, and thus our 'strategy' was more of a free-for-all. Instead of helping each other through diversion or teaming up with a dual-attack, we all went for her at once, without letting up. Getting to Rage turned out to be the hardest part, the black demon-tentacles held us back from hurting Rage at all.

Robin had been able to strike Rage once, but she seemed keen to not let that happen again. She kept us all at a distance, letting her minion arms keep us at bay. Robin threw some birdarangs at her, while Starfire tried shooting starbolts from long range. Cyborg tried to blast her once, but when Rage avoided the attack he stopped in order to conserve energy. The tentacles absorbed the blows, seeming to not take any damage whatsoever.

Rage, huge and menacing, was smiling the whole time. Her eyes glowed red with hate every time I looked at her. I thought about how Raven was in there somewhere, struggling to get out. I thought about how hurt Raven had been, how emotionally tortured she had been from experiencing Rages actions. I thought this, and felt something burn inside my heart. Something familiar, something I had felt before.

Something that, like Raven, I could not control.

Cyborg must have saw me beginning to change, because he ran over and smacked me on the back of the head. "Raven is enough to worry about when she's lost control. Don't you go doing it too."

"We're losing." I said as I dodged the strike of one of the tentacles.

Cyborg charged at Rage again. "No need to tell me that!" He jumped onto a tentacle and held on tight.

Rage seemed mildly peeved. She threw him off, and he slammed into a nearby building, leaving a large hole in it. She laughed.

We we getting our butts handed to us. Robin was trying to combat her long-range, but wasn't having much success. Robin was the best at combat, but without powers, he was at a huge disadvantage when it came to long-range attacks. Starfire was in the air constantly shooting starbolts, but her aim wasn't very good considering Rage was now hurling cars and stop signs and all the like at her.

Robin saw me standing there and yelled, "Beast Boy! We have to get close to her! There's no way we can hurt her by fighting these things!" With that, he ran towards Rage with every intent of swatting her square in the face. As soon as he made a move toward her, the tentacles rushed after him. With an amazing display of acrobatics and agility, Robin managed to dodge two tentacles while using a third as a platform to launch himself closer to Rage.

Rage seemed slightly worried now, and prepared herself for combat just in case Robin managed to actually get to her. The three tentacles that had been going after me suddenly lost interest in me and went for Robin. Clearly Rage had seen Robin as a more immediate threat, and had called for backup. Stunned, I looked in front of me and saw a clear path straight to Rage. I wasted no time transforming into a cheetah and hauling down the pathway. I got three quarters of the way there when I heard Robin yell as he was hurled through the air. I looked up and saw him flying end over end - Rage had thrusted him high in the sky.

Luckily, Starfire went and saved him from the lethal plummet to the ground. Unluckily, however, the tentacles now sensed my presence and came for me. I was so close, I didn't think they could stop me, but a trio of tentacles slithered in front of me and took swings at me, robbing me of breath as I slammed into the ground. I lay there for a couple of seconds as the tentacles unceasingly pounded me further and further into the asphalt.

Again I felt the Beast inside me, struggling to get out. Is this what Raven felt when Rage was about to take over? As I transformed into a Stegosaurus and took swings at Rage, I doubted that what I was feeling was as harsh as what Raven had. She had the knowledge that Rage had only evil in mind, while the Beast only wanted to protect people, namely Raven herself.

I did not fear the Beast inside me, but I avoided letting it out at all costs. The only thing I feared was that the Beast would beat Rage, and kill her.

I heard Cyborg fire his arm cannon and something unexpected happened: he didn't miss. Rage yelled out in pain and was sent hurling to the ground. Her tentacles withdrew into her cloak, and she writhed about on the ground, clutching her face and screaming.

"That should get her, I hit her with a lot of firepower." Cyborg said as he ran towards me. Starfire was still attending to Robin, who still didn't have the strength to stand, assuming none of his bones were broken. "What's she screaming about?"

"Raven's probably trying to escape."

Rage slowly got to her feet, staggering as she tried to gain balance. It was obvious that she was expending a lot of energy trying to keep Raven in her mind. Maybe Raven had more energy left than we had initially thought. Suddenly there was no struggle in Rage. She regained focus, and her four red eyes looked directly at us, full of hate.

"I don't think Raven made it!" Cyborg yelled, readying his arm cannon.

"Shoot her!" I said as I ran towards her, morphing into a Sasquatch. "She needs to be weaker!"

Cyborg shot three times, two of the shots found their target. Rage went tumbling end over end backwards, and I raced towards her. Her cloak was ripped, and blood was running down her arms. She stopped and lay on her stomach, and the writhing started again.

I reached her and flipped her over, and I watched as she used all of effort to remain in control. A tentacle came out of her cloak, and I snapped into action. With immense strength, I started pummeling her.

Apparently a Sasquatch was strong, because I was most powerful in this form. It was a go to transformation when I needed accurate, yet brute, strength.

It was the strongest, except for one transformation.

It seemed as though Rage was now caught in two battles. The one with me, and the one with Raven. I hit her in the face, and her hood fell down as her head was pounded into the road. Blood pooled around her head, and I kept going. Rage screamed in pain, and for a second, just a second, two of her eyes faded and I was staring into the face of Raven. It was a look of relief, and then pure horror.

But as soon as she was there, she was gone, and I was still punching and punching. _She almost had it! I just need her to be a little bit weaker. Just keep going… keep going…_ Rage's eyes looked up at me now, and she scowled, too hurt to scream. The look she gave me said everything. _You know how this is going to end. _

If it was going to end, it would end soon. A human can't take this kind of beating. And still I didn't stop. WIth each punch I threw, I hated myself more and more. But at this point, it was like I was in a fog. Every second that passed, the fog became more and more dense, like I was in a dream. It was like I was looking through somebody else's eyes.

It was like I had lost control.

My vision became more and more cloudy, and my heart started beating faster than it had been already. The last thing I saw was Raven's eyes opening again, for she had now conquered Rage. I had beaten her to the limit, but even though Raven was here, I wasn't stopping. Her eyes were wide with horror as she watched me start to change. The most horrifying thing though, was that her face was covered with blood. She had finally beat Rage, only to come back to this. Her boyfriend beating her to a bloody pulp, and there was nothing I could do to stop at this point.

I heard Cyborg's voice, but it sounded extremely far away. I could barely hear it. "BEAST BOY! STOP!"

The Beast took control, and the fog overtook me.

**AN: Wow, poor Raven :'( She got what she asked for, that's B.B.s excuse anyway. But he has bigger things to worry about now...**


	9. Chapter 9: The End of the Whole Mess

No copyright infringement intended. The Teen Titans are the property of Warner Brothers and DC comics.

Chapter 9: The End of the Whole Mess

In my defense, my only intention while beating Raven into unconsciousness was to save her. I guess that was the Beast's intention too when he took me over. Seeing Raven fail to overcome Rage had put a kind of hopelessness into the entire situation, and at that point it seemed as though Raven simply could not regain control. In my mind, with every punch I was getting closer and closer to finding Raven. But at the same time, with every punch I deepened the guilt in my heart. I believe that the Beast kept beating up Raven out of sheer desperation. The Beast, primal at heart and instinctive by nature, did the only thing that made sense in his mind: hurt the one who is oppressing Raven. Unfortunately, the one hurting Raven kind of _was _Raven; therefore, the Beast was doing circles around a catch-22.

This justification I provided myself with did not at all mask the extreme guilt that I felt when the Beast faded away from its jurisdiction over my body.

Coming to my senses after the Beast had taken over was like waking up from a dream. The first thing that happens is my hearing returns. Then, my vision slowly returns as 'the fog' is lifted from my eyes.

The first thing that I heard was Cyborg's voice. "He's coming to. B.B?"

I groaned. My head ached, and my entire body was sore. As my vision became less blurry I could make out Starfire's face looking down at me. I was on my back, still in the road. "What happened?" I asked, knowing full well what had happened. I guess I meant to ask 'how much damage did I do?'. Well, my brain was still a little foggy, it was hard to believe I was coherent enough to formulate sentences anyway.

"You became the Beast again. Cyborg and I fought you for a half of an hour." Starfire said.

"We thought you were going to end up in the same situation Raven was in. You know, the whole 'I lost control and now I can't get it back' kind of thing." Cyborg's joking tone was relieving, it meant that there wasn't danger at hand. Hopefully it meant that Raven was back.

"Where is Robin?" I asked. He had been a part of the fight for a mere 10 minutes, and I had barely seen him since. I faintly remembered him being batted into the air by Rage, but I didn't know for sure. I was still in a bit of a trance.

"We sent some citizens to carry him to North Jump City General on the other side of town. He's been unconscious since Rage threw him into the air about an hour ago." Cyborg said.

"I caught him before he fell to the ground, but Rage must have hit him so hard that it did not matter. He was not responsive when I caught him." Tears welled up in Starfire's eyes.

"Why are they taking him all of the way to North Jump City General? What about South General?" I asked. South General was a mere five minutes away, while North Jump City General was at least forty five minutes away.

"Rage trashed that place. The police are distributing North's patients to other hospitals within a one-hour radius." Said Cyborg.

I felt the strength to stand, and Cyborg helped me up. My head hurt bad, and I winced as a sharp pain shot through it as I stood on my feet.

"You okay?" asked Cyborg.

"Fine Cy. I'm fine." I rubbed my head and stretched. My back cracked loudly. I decided to ask the obvious question. "What about Raven?"

Cyborg pointed behind me. I turned around and saw a familiar site, Raven, suspended in air, with a faint aura around her. It looked like she was sleeping on an invisible bed. She was about thirty yards away, and Star, Cyborg, and I walked towards her.

"We set her free." Cyborg started.

"You set her free, Beast Boy." Starfire corrected.

"Yeah…" Cyborg said, glaring at Starfire. "While you were beating the life out of Rage, Raven managed to take control over her body. We all saw her become herself again, even though she was bloody, bruised, and cut. Apparently you didn't notice, because the Beast kept wailing on her.

Raven couldn't summon any of her powers to get you off of her, and you just kept on throwing punches. As much of a beating as she had taken, we were surprised that she lasted as long as she did." Cyborg explained.

We reached Raven. Cyborg was right, her leotard was badly torn across her stomach, revealing badly wounded gray skin beneath it. Her face was covered in bruises and gaping cuts, and her hair was caked in blood. Her cape and hood had been reduced to a few pieces of cloth that danced in the breeze, and her shoes, along with her red pendant and belt, were gone entirely. Cyborg continued, "This was all you. You really kicked the snot out of her."

I felt like I was going to be sick. _I had done this to her? How could I? _I asked myself. "I-… I-" I stuttered, not really knowing what I had been planning to say.

Cyborg patted me on the back. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You did exactly what she told you to do; give her everything you've got. She's healing herself anyway. It's one of the perks of being Raven."

That was a relief. I didn't have to watch her recover for weeks in a hospital while I felt guilty about it for the entire time. It was probable, however, that Raven would take a while to recover mentally from all that had happened. Physically, Raven would be fine by tomorrow, but the mental toll was deeper than a couple of cuts and more permanent than a few bruises. She would need time, and lots of it.

A crowd was starting to form. I wondered where they had come from, but I concluded that they must have been inside the buildings or in alleyways in an attempt to find shelter. From all directions they came, and slowly the multitude formed a shaky circle around us. Cyborg motioned for them to stay back in an effort to let Raven heal.

I heard people muttering in the crowd. I only caught bits and pieces, but it was all that I needed to hear.

_"… destroyed the city…"_

_"…she killed…"_

_"… dangerous…"_

_" Raven…"_

They didn't have pitchforks or torches, but they sure were threatening. Cyborg and I became very uncomfortable, and we exchanged glances as we looked around nervously at the crowd. Starfire yelled out to the crowd "Everyone, please stay back! Our friend needs some space!"

The crowd wasn't buying it, and I didn't blame them. They didn't know that it was Rage who destroyed the city; to them, Raven was still the culprit. At any moment, they could start a riot and turn against us. It was unlikely, but it still worried me.

I turned to Cyborg. "We need to get her out of here."

"I know," Cyborg said uneasily. "but I don't want to interrupt her when she is in this state."

"If we don't interfere, they will." I said, motioning toward the crowd around us. As if on cue, an elderly man stepped out from the crowd and pushed me aside without saying a word. He was bald and very feeble, and dressed in a hospital gown. He now stood a foot from Raven, staring down at her. He reached his hand out, intrigued by the faint aura that surrounded Raven.

Cyborg shoved him backwards, knocking the man off of his feet. Out of the man's hand fell Raven's pendant, which I dismissed as an unimportant detail. "Star! Take Raven back to the tower!" Cyborg yelled as the man got back up, seemingly unaffected by the fall.

"But - she's stil-" Starfire started.

"It doesn't matter! We'll meet you there." Cyborg pressed some buttons on his arm, and I heard the familiar engine of the T-Car revving up in the distance. Starfire held Raven in her arms, and flew away without looking back. Raven didn't wake up.

The crowd parted as the T-Car made its way through the street. When it pulled up to us, Cyborg and I stepped in, slamming the doors behind us. The old man stood ominously in front of the car, clearly not planning on moving anytime soon. Cyborg was forced to put the car in reverse, and pushed his way through the crowd. When we reached the end of the street and started heading to the tower, I looked back and saw the old man waving. I was creeped out, but I had bigger things to worry about.

Like Raven.

The incident we had just faced reminded me that Raven was still a public enemy to them. "It'll be okay, right?" I asked Cyborg. "We can just explain to them, right?"

He was silent for a couple of seconds, then replied, "I hope so." Neither of us spoke for the rest of the ride home.

The tower was still a disaster - a reminder of how this all began. I wasn't thrilled to see that the city wasn't faring much better when Cyborg turned on the T.V. The channels showed helicopter footage of the ruin that was now Jump City. A couple of the tall buildings had smoke coming out of them, and most of the smaller drugstores and such were reduced to piles of rubble.

And according to the television reporters, who was to blame for all of this carnage? None other than the Teen Titans. To my relief, they did briefly mention that Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, and I had managed to save the city from Raven. They even offered their best wishes to Robin as he recovered in the hospital (they mentioned that his condition was rapidly improving, saying that he should be releases very soon). To my disgust, however, Raven wasn't given any sympathy. She was the antagonist in the whole situation. They had no idea that it wasn't Raven's fault at all, that, quite frankly, the person who destroyed the city wasn't Raven at all.

I sat on the couch to watch the rest of the coverage. Even though I had every intention of getting up and checking on Raven's condition, I fell asleep immediately. Starfire and Cyborg quickly followed suit.

* * *

I woke up nearly 12 hours later when I heard somebody open the door, at 8 o'clock the next morning. Cyborg and Starfire were still fast asleep on the couch. I got up and looked to see who had come into the living room.

It was Robin, who limped into the kitchen. He had a sling on his arm and a couple of bandages on his face. I walked into the kitchen and sat down. He scavenged through the fringe, found a carton of milk, and drank right form the container.

Ignoring the fact that this was disgusting, I asked him, "Are you okay?"

"I will be. Soon. Where is Raven?"

I hadn't seen her since Starfire flew off with her, but I said "In her room probably. As far as I know she is still healing."

"That wouldn't surprise me, she took quite a beating."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you want to know where she was?" I asked.

"I need to talk to her about something." He replied. He looked away when he said that. Even with his mask on, I knew he was hiding something by the look on his face.

"About what?" I instead.

He sighed. He had not planned on speaking with me about this, apparently. "When I was in the hospital last night, someone came to visit me. Someone important."

"Who?"

"I don't know, but he worked for the government. He never told me, but I could tell. I've dealt with people like that before. He spoke in a way that only top secret government 'agents' do. Very condescending, unrelenting… He wanted to talk about Raven."

Suddenly I knew where this was going, and I didn't like it one bit.

"I told him what had happened. How Rage had taken control, how her father was the reason for all of this, and that Raven was back and in control once more.

He didn't buy it. The man listened but he was unmoved by my explanation. He said that Raven needed to turn herself in and be discharged from the team." "He can't do that!" I said furiously.

"He can't, but he knows people who can enforce it. To him, Raven is now a threat not only to Jump City, but to the entire world. It doesn't matter that she's saved the world dozens of times when she has the potential to destroy it."

"Raven would never destroy the world…" I said, still angry, but now understanding. How could I argue? The government only wanted what was best for the country, and Raven was a threat to its citizens. She had proved that for the past few days.

Robin put his good hand on my shoulder. "I'm not for this either, but we really don't have a choice. If she doesn't turn herself in and get out of the tower, they will force her to. And then she'll be a real criminal. I hate to say it, but that guy was right. We can't have the world destroyed just because Raven has a temper tantrum."

I looked down at the ground, feeling a loss for words. It was incredible how much things had changed in a week. And now it was possible that Raven would go to jail.

"I'm going to get some more sleep until Raven finishes healing." Robin walked to the couch and laid down next to Starfire.

I went to Raven's room, finding myself lost in thought for the tenth time this week. I knew one thing - I had to talk to Raven before Robin did. I reached her door and opened it, having no idea what to expect. I hoped desperately to find the normal Raven sitting upright in her bed, smiling and happy to see me.

But after all that had happened, nothing would surprise me.

**One more chapter everyone! Thanks for sticking with me through this story. A big shoutout to those who took the time to review, it is very much appreciated. Just a side note, I would like to reiterate something that another author said on this site a little while ago. "Not Reviewing is the worst possible thing that you can do! It is the only way that an author knows if what he/she is writing is worth continuing, or if it is total crap." She's right, it's the only way we know that we have true readers, so I encourage you to write a review for every story you read, not just mine! It means a lot to us authors. :)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The wrap-up chapter is coming in the near future, be prepared!**

**-Valenciabelieves**


	10. Chapter 10: More To Worry About

Chapter 10: More to Worry About

I walked in and found Raven still surrounded by her healing aura. She was levitating above her bed, and was still in her torn clothes. Even so, she looked peaceful. Maybe it was for that reason that I decided not to try waking her, or maybe it was because I'm not stupid enough to even try, but I left the room almost immediately. When Raven did wake up, I'm not sure I wanted to be there for her first moments out of her own mind and out of danger. I assumed that when she took in the fact that she had just committed murders and acts of destruction, she would go into a state of extreme remorse. When I talked to her, I would want her to have a little while to take in all that has happened, just so I would be able to have a normal conversation with her.

Secretly I hoped that everything would go back to the way it was just short time ago - enjoying each other's company in each other's rooms together. The little thrill of our romantic fling keeping our lives interesting… but in the back of my mind I knew that it was a long shot. Even if that was what Raven wanted, there was still the problem of the government, and the public. Raven had caused enough destruction that if the city needed saving, we'd have to help them without Raven. Raven would need to turn herself in, or risk getting taken by force.

I walked past Robin's room and heard the sound of typing. Normally I wouldn't have though anything of this, but given that Robin only had one good arm, I wondered why he was bothering typing in the first place. Without knocking I opened the door. Robin was hunched over his keyboard, using one hand to furiously type on his computer. He appeared to be very frustrated, but also very determined. Next to him, on his desk, lay a pair of rings.

It took me a moment, but I recognized them as the hologram rings that Cyborg used to break into the HIVE Academy. They could disguise a person into anybody they wanted to become. "Uhh, Robin, what are you doing?" I inquired, looking over his shoulder at the computer screen. Somehow he had acquired the ability to type rather efficiently using only one hand. His wrist bended in every direction as his fingers spread across the keyboard, banging the keys with much force and precision.

"Typing my public address." He said, still very focused on typing. "The press is going to go crazy. There is no doubt that I'm going to be asked questions. I'm going to release this document to the press when it all goes down. Hopefully the government will stay out of it." It was like he was keeping me in the dark on exactly what he was talking about, as he never specified what _it _was. "They want Raven, and they aren't going to get her." He said forcefully.

I looked back at the rings, understanding what they were probably for. "You have a plan." I began, not really surprised. "Disobeying the orders of that CIA guy is probably against the law… you could get in big trouble."

"They can't do anything to us, we didn't do anything wrong as far as they can prove. And if Raven runs off 'on her own' then there isn't anything we can be held responsible for."

"Why do you think that the press is going to get involved?"

"Because every person on the news wants her behind bars immediately. When they come for her and she isn't here, there will be an uproar. It'd be like Charles Manson disappearing completely before anybody arrests him."

"C'mon, you can't compare Raven to Charles Manson."

"But officially she is responsible for the death of 94 people, and in their eyes it wasn't an accident. This isn't something you can explain to them, this isn't something she can talk her way out of. Unless Raven wants to spend the rest of her life in jail, she's has to get out of the tower." He finally stopped typing, apparently satisfied with his public statement. He looked up at me for the first time. "I've had a change of heart. When I thought about it, I realized how unfair it would be to Raven should she spend the rest of her life in prison. We aren't going to stand by and watch them take her away."

"I don't think that turning her into a fugitive is going to help her very much. Always being on the run is going to take a lot out of her."

"She won't have to run very far with the hologram rings." he argued, and then said "but we're going to restore her image." There was a craziness in Robin's eyes that was almost frightening. It reminded me of his struggle with Red X. He was on the verge of good and bad, wavering between them with skewed uncertainty. "We are going to help her win back the public. And the only way for her to do that is if she saves the city."

"Are you planning on staging a save-the-day mission?"

He smiled slyly. "Maybe. First thing's first though, Raven needs to disappear." He grabbed the hologram rings and held them up to me. "Haven't you always wondered what Raven would want to look like on the outside if she didn't have to be herself?"

It was an interesting question. Considering Raven didn't really have a secret identity, she would have to totally changer her image. I thought about how she would make herself look - would she stay true to herself for branch out into someone new altogether? Ideally I wondered what Raven would look like with a tan.

I shook those thoughts out of my mind and focused on the task at hand. "When will you give those to her?"

"Soon. Hopefully she'll be ready by tomorrow, because I don't know how much time the CIA or whoever is going to let us keep her." His eyes wandered back to the speech he had written. "As long as they are convinced that Raven disappeared on her own accord, we will be in the clear."

He seemed confident, but I could tell he was nervous. Breaking the law was not something that Robin liked having on his agenda. We were silent for a couple of minutes, neither of us really knowing what to say next.

Then the Tower security system went off. The lights blinked red as the alarm sounded. Every computer in the room flashed the the same message. 'Security breached, intruder alert. Unauthorized personnel in sector 20.'

"Sector 20?" I asked. "Isn't that…"

Robin bolted out of his chair and ran out the door. "…Raven's room!"

I sprinted behind Robin and we raced towards Raven's door. I could hear the sound of Cyborg's heavy running footsteps from farther down the hall. We reached her room and rushed inside, out of breath but very alert. It was a panicked scene, with the flashing lights and the siren and all, but Raven appeared untouched.

But when we took one step toward her, the window on the far side of the room snapped shut, as if someone had just run through it. Robin immediately made his way to the window, opened it, and looked out.

"This room is like 200 feet off of the ground!" I said, "How could anyone get up here?"

"There's nobody down there." Robin said. "Maybe the wind just shook the window a little and set off the security system." He stuck his head back into the room and looked around."

Cyborg crouched to the floor and picked something up from off the ground. "Or maybe someone got out just in time. You recognize this Beast Boy?"

I looked to see what he was holding, and my eyes widened. It was Raven's red pendent that usually kept her cloak in place. It also doubled as her communicator. I was certain that Raven didn't have this after we had brought her back to the tower. "The last person to have that was…"

"That creep who tried to touch Raven's aura. The old guy in the hospital gown."

"How do you remember all of that?" I asked. I had been in such a panic at the time I didn't remember any of that part. "All I remember is that he was standing in front of the T-Car and he was holding…" I grabbed the pendent from Cyborg. I looked down and studied it. Robin took it away from me and held it carefully.

"We need to scan this for fingerprints." Robin said, and carefully set it on Raven's dresser. He went to examine Raven's condition, but she was untouched.

Cyborg went to the window and looked out mysteriously. "I think we found someone who is _very _interested in Raven."

"That worries me." I said.

Robin came back and stood next to Cyborg and I, and he held up the hologram rings. "We need to make her disappear, now." He stated. "Or someone is going to get to her."

As Raven levitated above her bed and continued to heal, we all watched her. She seemed at peace, unaware of all of the potential threats that currently surrounded her. We hoped she could deal with the flood of information when she woke up, that she would be able to muster the strength to leave the tower and assume a new identity. But for now there was only uncertainty.

And as Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and I stood watching her, we all felt something that we rarely felt.

We were scared.

**Whew. Done! After scrapping the original Chapter 10, I've finally decided that this is how I want to end this part of the story, so That's the end of Seeing Red! A follow up is in the works, be patient :)Thank you all for reading, it's been a lot of fun writing for you all. **

**I would like some input, however. Should I write the follow up in third-person, first person from a different POV, or continue the story as told by Beast Boy? Thanks for any input!**

**Until next time,**

**-valenciabelieves**


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